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Heat tolerant chickens

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Michael OShay said:
I've found over several decades of raising Australorps that you can tell people how heat tolerant they are, but they often have a hard time believing it until they raise the Australorps themselves in a hot climate. Afterward, they are invariably amazed at how heat tolerant Australorps are. :eek:)
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The more I hear, the more I want them too... How are they at free ranging? We don't get TOO hot...lol 110 max... But I have Anconas and Buttercups as my free rangers right now, and I'd like to switch out some layers, but I hate scouting for eggs ... Will they go back to the coop or am I going to be looking for eggs in the trees? ;)
 
shortgrass said:
The more I hear, the more I want them too... How are they at free ranging? We don't get TOO hot...lol 110 max... But I have Anconas and Buttercups as my free rangers right now, and I'd like to switch out some layers, but I hate scouting for eggs ... Will they go back to the coop or am I going to be looking for eggs in the trees?
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My one Australorp
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started laying at 20 weeks and is very good about going back to the coop. (She laid about 2 eggs in the run at first, but then she figured it out with the help of fake eggs and golf balls, and she has had her favorite nest box since).*
I don't officially free range because we have many hawks. But mine go through a chicken tunnel to a large netted in area around shrubs and a large tree (300 sq feet), and she has adapted to this well. They go back and forth all day to do chicken things.
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She has taken on the rooster hen role, in that she is very predator alert, and makes sure everyone gets back to the coop in the evening.

*to be on the safe side, once they start laying, it can help to restrict them to the coop/run for a few days, at least until midday, to make sure they lay in the right place.
 
shortgrass said:
The more I hear, the more I want them too... How are they at free ranging? We don't get TOO hot...lol 110 max... But I have Anconas and Buttercups as my free rangers right now, and I'd like to switch out some layers, but I hate scouting for eggs ... Will they go back to the coop or am I going to be looking for eggs in the trees?
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Australorps free range as good as any other dual purpose breed. If they've been confined in the coop long enough for it to be imprinted on them as "home," you will have no problem with them not returning to the coop. They are very good to use the nesting boxes in the coop for laying their eggs.
 
shortgrass said:
The more I hear, the more I want them too... How are they at free ranging? We don't get TOO hot...lol 110 max... But I have Anconas and Buttercups as my free rangers right now, and I'd like to switch out some layers, but I hate scouting for eggs ... Will they go back to the coop or am I going to be looking for eggs in the trees? ;)
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I let all of my chickens free range. And they usually go back to the coop to lay their eggs. For me, there has only been onetime that they have Layed their eggs outside of the coop. It was in a patch of waist high grass right outside the fence. It was such a cute little nest! But I just followed them into it and just collected the eggs daily from there.
 
lynnehd said:
I can't get over how heat tolerant the Australorp is! She never pants, it was 103 here 2 days ago.
She goes into the coop when it is 95f and lays her egg, comes out w/o panting. In fact, I have never seen her pant.
I don't understand how the black Australorp is so heat tolerant (less down underneath?), but that's the way it is.
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Michael OShay said:
I've found over several decades of raising Australorps that you can tell people how heat tolerant they are, but they often have a hard time believing it until they raise the Australorps themselves in a hot climate. Afterward, they are invariably amazed at how heat tolerant Australorps are. :eek:)
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Funny how this works...see a post, answer a question..get talked into a new breed lol... Culling my Wyandottes for Black Australorps; order placed this morning...pbth thanks everybody :p

Watch these BYC people, deserteggs22, lol you start with a few chickens and then you are hooked; we feed a horrible addiction here hahaha ;)
 
shortgrass said:
Funny how this works...see a post, answer a question..get talked into a new breed lol... Culling my Wyandottes for Black Australorps; order placed this morning...pbth thanks everybody :p

Watch these BYC people, deserteggs22, lol you start with a few chickens and then you are hooked; we feed a horrible addiction here hahaha ;)
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You got that right!
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at first, I was aloud to only get 10, but now I have 24! I am truly addicted!
 

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